The Day of Change
by Kafkaz
Summary: The last 24 hours of war from Ginny's point of view. Slightly AU.


_**NOTE: This story belongs to Potterworld. If you don't know what Potterworld is check it out on my profile or else you might find yourself wondering what is going on in here and whether I have read different Harry Potter books than you. **_

_**Also, the timeline is rather forcefully stretched at one point, mainly the time period between Voldemort's visit to Gingotts and Harry's arrival at Hogwarts is much longer than in the book. I just needed this time to develop the action the way I wanted it to be so you can just assume that for some reason Voldemort didn't go to check on his Horcruxes right away or it took him much longer to finally get to the one at Hogwarts. **_

_**At last, I don't own anything. All the quotes come from 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' by J. K. Rowling.**_

_**Enjoy!**_

* * *

Ginny was sitting on a couch in front of a fireplace in his eldest brother's living room at the Shell Cottage. He was out and Fleur was nowhere to be seen. Apart from changing her position slightly several times she barely moved since the early morning hours when she sat there after saying goodbye to Harry, Ron and Hermione. She's been staying here nearly for a month now, ever since Bill saved her from her horrid aunt Muriel's house few days after the trio arrived at his home. She still had no idea how he convinced her mother to let her come here but she didn't really care. What mattered to her was that after over seven months apart from each other she got to see Harry again, as well as her brother and her best friend. The time between the wedding and her arrival here was terrible. The constant stress was driving her insane, she was worried all the time, worried for her three friends, who were somewhere out there working on bringing Voldemort down, and for her family and all the other people she cared about. And today it wasn't much better. While far from completely carefree and happy, the last few weeks were absolutely amazing in comparison to the previous months. She was with Harry, and even though he spend most of the time with the wretched goblin working on a crazy plan of a break-in to Gringotts she couldn't help being happy. It felt surreal, the four of them being here by the sea. Almost as if the war outside wasn't happening. Of course it seemed ridiculous to say something like that with Voldemort, Horcruxes and Gringotts break-in being their number one topics for most of each day. Still, it was the best since they left. But now her happy bubble was broken. They left yet again and she was back to her worrying. Her mind didn't fail to supply her with the visions of all the things that might have gone wrong on their mission, all the ways in which they might have died. She felt sick at that thought, the thought of Harry being dead. _You know it can happen_. Of course she knew. That knowledge has kept her awake for more than one night. _Merlin knows, maybe he is dead already?_ No. He was not dead and she knew that. She touched the warm band on her finger for what seemed like the hundredth time today. She had yet to thank her brother for that. She did already, but she didn't feel it was anywhere near enough. Bill was amazing. It was incredible how he cared for her even though he had more than enough of his own problems. On one evening before his wedding he came to her room, small dark box in his hand. There were two rings inside. White gold, goblin made, as he explained. He said he charmed them for her. Her and Harry. She was to give one of them to him so that they would have some way of keeping in touch. Well, keeping in touch was a bit of an exaggeration. All the rings could do was let them know whether they were alive and that they were thinking of each other. Whenever she appeared somewhere in Harry's thoughts her band would warm up and glow a tiny bit. She was forever grateful to her brother for that little touch. She couldn't even remember how many times it helped her in the darkest moments of the past months, laying in bed in her dorm and observing the faint glow of the ring on her finger. It felt as if some part of Harry was there with her. And now she was playing with the piece of gold once again. It was comfortingly warm, comfortingly because as long as she could feel the warmth he was alright.

The scratching coming from the radio brought her out of her musings. She looked at the clock on the mantelpiece. It was past eight already, she had no idea how she could have not realised it was this late. The day was nearing its end. She heard one more scratch and then Lee's voice appeared.

'Hello everyone, welcome to Potterwach, as usual it's River speaking 'he sounded excited and it got Ginny wondering what has happened. 'I am happy to say that for once I don't have any bad news for you, more so there are some good ones' now Ginny was getting really curious. Ever since Lee started broadcasting she didn't miss a single programme and while there were several times when nobody's death was mentioned she couldn't remember a single time when Lee was cheerful and announcing good news. 'For the first time since we started broadcasting I have some actual information about Harry Potter to share with you. Dear listeners, Harry Potter is all fine and alive as was confirmed by several eye witnesses who have seen him today in Diagon Alley' _What?_ Ginny felt a strong wave of dread coursing through her body. _They were not supposed to be seen, something went wrong!_ She started panicking and barely forced herself to keep listening in hope to learn more. 'Unfortunately the people I got that news from were not able to stay here with me and tell you personally what they have seen but I will try my best to repeat to you what they told me, and mind you dear listeners it is quite a tale. As it turns out Harry Potter and two other people who we can only guess were his friends have broken into Gringotts early this morning and upon being discovered escaped on a dragon causing a fair bit of damage to the bank's building. Unfortunately I cannot give you the reasons for their actions seeing as my informers only watched the event take place from Diagon Alley and were unable to get any more information on what has happened...'

Ginny felt numb. _Dragon. They escaped on a dragon. But why did they have to escape in the first place?_ She knew exactly why. Because they were discovered. Before another, this time much stronger, wave of fear could envelope her the door to the house burst open. She nearly jumped out of her skin and got to her feet pulling out the wand from her back pocket in a millisecond and directing it at the entrance ready to fight whatever Death Eater has gotten inside. But it was no Death Eater, instead she found herself aiming at Bill who looked quite dishevelled as if he were running just a second ago.

'Have you heard?'

'Yeah' she lowered her wand 'Lee just told about it on the radio.' She put the wand back in her jeans and sat on the couch. Before either of them could say anything more Fleur came into the room.

'Bill' she exclaimed, relief evident in her voice. She came to him and after making sure he was alright pulled him in what looked like a really tight embrace. She let him go after few seconds and then asked 'what happened? Why did you burst in here like that?'

Despite all the distressful thoughts swamping her mind Ginny couldn't help but admire the progress Fleur has made in her English. During the past month her attitude towards her sister-in-law has changed considerably. Harry would try to be funny saying it was only because she started calling her 'Ginny' instead of 'Geenee'. _How hilarious indeed. _The truth though was that staying at their house for those few weeks made her see that there was much more to Fleur than just a pretty face and that no matter what she had thought about her brother's idea to marry her before she now saw that there was a real love between them.

'Harry, Ron and Hermione were seen escaping from Gringotts on a dragon' explained Bill, a fair share of shock still evident on his face.

'What?' Fleur seemed just as shocked if not more.

'Yeah, I knew they were planning something with Griphook but I didn't even think it was something like that. What were they thinking, breaking into Gringotts?' He seemed really agitated about that, but Ginny didn't care. There was something else she wanted to know.

'Were they even successful?' she could see from her brother's expression that it was not the question he expected to hear.

'What?'

'Were they successful? All Lee said was that they made a break-in but nothing more' Bill continued looking at her as if she were crazy.

'Ginny what the hell are you talking about? How am I supposed to know if they were successful! I have no idea what they were hoping to find in there or whether they got it. I just talked to Remus a while ago, he was in Diagon Alley no more than fifteen minutes before seeing me. He said it looks like a war zone, windows smashed and pieces of walls blown away. They say You Know Who himself has been there not before long, killed everyone at Gringotts...'

Ginny stiffened. Her worse suspicion was just confirmed. _He knows. _She tried to fight the fear gripping her but found it just too difficult. Bill must have noticed what was going on for he came to sit beside her on the couch.

'Yeah, I know' he looked quite shaken himself by the news he just passed on. 'I don't know what happened, he must have been furious that they let Harry escape...'

She cut him off before he could continue.

'You don't understand. They weren't supposed to be seen, he couldn't have known they were there' Ginny felt herself panicking. She wondered if Harry knew already that Voldemort has found out they've been to Gringotts. _He better._ Then again she wondered if Voldemort himself connected the dots and realised what Harry was doing. _Don't be an idiot, of course he did!_ she mentally scolded herself. As much as she would want to believe it she knew there was no possible way Voldemort didn't know Harry was looking for his Horcruxes.

'What? What do you mean You Know Who couldn't have known...'Bill started asking her but she wasn't listening, instead she jumped up from the couch a sudden realisation hitting her. She run to the stairs and up to the room her and Hermione were sharing just until this morning, an idea forming in her mind on the way. She threw the door to the room open and got to her bag in few big steps. It was a really nice leather bag lacquered green that Fred and George got her for her birthday two years ago. She used it at Hogwarts to carry her books and last summer Hermione put and extension charm on it when she asked her to after seeing her beaded purse stuffed with books, clothes and all the other things she put in there. Now she turned it upside down an started shaking it causing her own stuff to fall out and spill itself on the floor. She started rummaging through it hurriedly, getting more and more frustrated with every passing second. Finally when she thought she wouldn't find anything she saw a galleon fall out of one of her jeans' pockets. She picked it up and after making sure there was no massage on it she returned downstairs with the coin still in her hand.

Upon entering the living room she found Bill just as she left him sitting on the couch, only now Fleur was sitting next to him having taken the place she herself occupied all day long. Hearing her come down the stairs Bill turned his head.

'What in the hell was that about? Where have you gone?'

Ginny came closer to both of them and sat in an armchair on the side of the couch. Only then she held up the galleon for her brother to see.

'It's a DA galleon, remember, I told you about it once' she noticed it still didn't make any sense to him, he looked just as confused as before so she proceeded with her explanation. 'Harry wanted to go to Hogwarts for a while already and now that You Know Who knows he's been at Gringotts his time is running out so I just thought that's where they will head after escaping. Back at school people thought that Harry is going to come at some point and start an uprising so Luna and Neville made the three of us promise each other that should that happen we will let each other know through the galleons if we're not at Hogwarts at the time. And while both Luna and I aren't there anymore Neville is still staying at school. So once Harry shows up he's going to send a message.'

She could tell by the look on his face that Bill still didn't understand anything apart from that she was waiting for a message. She expected him to say something but it was Fleur who spoke up.

'Harry's going to Hogwarts? Why? There are Death Eaters there and all around Hogsmeade too, doesn't he know how dangerous it is?'

'I'm afraid it doesn't matter anymore. If he doesn't hurry up we might never get rid of that bastard' unlike Ron and Hermione Ginny was convinced Harry was right and there was a Horcrux at Hogwarts. She couldn't understand why Hermione was so opposed to the idea. She was just being a thick-headed know-it-all as far as Ginny was concerned. She knew it wasn't nice what she was thinking about her best friend but Ginny couldn't help but think that the only reason she wouldn't agree with Harry was because she didn't consider it a possibility in the beginning and then after he started his attempts at convincing her she just continued stubbornly denying all the facts that made perfect sense just because she wasn't capable of admitting someone was right while she wasn't. And then again, there was more that made her sure Harry was right than just the facts that made sense. She had something that neither of them – maybe except Harry – had, that provided her with certainty. An insight into Voldemort's mind. As much as she was working on forgetting the Chamber ordeal she could still remember clearly everything from that time, especially all the moments she spent alone with Riddle's diary pouring her soul into it. She remembered everything he told her about his life at Hogwarts as well as all the feelings that accompanied the mentions of the school. Yes, feelings, his feelings, because even though she didn't realise it at the time that was exactly what they were. Those strange sensations she would get while writing in the diary and reading Tom's responses. Sometimes she would get angry, sometimes really excited. She didn't know what was causing them, she just suspected she was being over-emotional about what her friend was telling her. But after she learned about the Horcruxes from Harry she understood that the emotions she was feeling weren't her own but his. That after all the time she spent with the diary she got somehow connected to the soul piece living inside it. And that was how she knew Harry was right. Because she knew how Voldemort felt about Hogwarts, how he considered it his home and the place where his magical heritage was truly visible, the place where he wouldn't hesitate to hide the thing that was the most precious to him, that would guarantee him his power.

Her thoughts were once more interrupted by Bill who for change now looked rather pale and slightly uncertain about whether he wanted to know the answer to what he was asking.

'Get rid of the bastard? Surely you don't mean...' he looked just like their mother now when she was trying to convince Harry and Ron that they were just children and whatever Dumbledore told Harry he clearly must have misunderstood him and there was nothing he had to do besides staying safely tucked away at home. It got her suddenly irritated and she had to stop herself from blowing up at her brother for no reason at all.

'Yes, Bill, I mean. Honestly, what did you think he was doing? The Prophet spent a full year writing about how he is the Chosen One...' Bill cut her off before she could say anything more.

'Oh, please. The Prophet? That rag writes everything that sells, it wrote all kinds of bullshit about Harry in the past...'

'Well that one bit was not a bullshit. It was true. There was a prophecy at the Ministry. Harry has to kill You Know Who or else he kills him. And one of the last obstacles that keep him from doing that is at Hogwarts, that's why he needs to get there before You Know Who comes and jeopardizes all his chances at ending this fucking war' it felt both good and horrible to state it all bluntly like that. It somehow provided a sense of calmness that could only be acquired when one knew exactly what there was to be done and how and that after it was done the matter would be closed forever. But then again saying it made her realise how close they were to the end of it all. Or the end of Harry. Voldemort would come to Hogwarts, there was no doubt about that, and if him and Harry were to meet there the confrontation was sure to take place. And only one of them would get out of it alive. She tried desperately to convince herself that it would be Harry but she found herself struggling impossibly to do so. Up until now she was absolutely sure of him. He was Harry Potter, bloody Boy-Who-Lived, he couldn't die. It was only the matter of destroying all the Horcruxes when he could kill Voldemort and the war would end. But upon facing the real possibility of the two of them facing each other soon her confidence in Harry evaporated. _It is Voldemort, for Merlin's sake. He killed better than Harry, countless people, accomplished Aurors, how is he supposed to defeat him? With love, that's what Dumbledore would say._ She almost laughed out loud at her own thoughts. She had no idea what the man meant by that. How was Harry supposed to defeat the darkest wizard of all times with love? _Hug him to death._ It was stupid joke, she knew it, but it was the best she could come up with. She felt horrible for thinking all that, for not believing in him. It wasn't supposed to be like that, she was supposed to be his number one supporter but instead she was getting more and more sure that he was going to die. She forced herself to stop thinking about it. Once she has done that she noticed that Bill and Fleur were sitting there in stunned silence. She had no idea how long she's been lost in her thoughts but however long it was it looked like the two of them haven't moved or spoken since she stopped talking.

Bill had an unreadable expression on his face, she wondered what he was thinking. Fleur on the other hand looked positively shaken, she could tell it was the last thing she expected to hear. Ginny new she had a soft spot for Harry and while in the past it would annoy her to no end, having a part-veela showing any signs of affection for her boyfriend, right now all she felt was a pity for the girl. She was obviously scared and worried about him.

Not knowing what else to do Ginny started fumbling with the galleon she was still holding in her hand. Lee's voice kept coming from the radio but she didn't pay attention. She was concentrating hard on bringing back all the happy memories of her and Harry that she had, not letting herself get lost in the images of his dead body falling to the ground from the flash of green coming from Voldemort's wand that her brain kept conveying to her.

They all sat there in silence for a long time. She didn't know how long it's been before one of them – Bill or Fleur, she didn't look up to check – finally moved and then the two started talking about something quietly. She noticed how the room was slowly getting dark and soon Bill lit the lamps. Some more time has passed when suddenly she registered the movement in her hand. She looked down only to notice the galleon considerably grow and then go back to its normal size after a second or two. She already knew what it meant but read the message on it anyway. 'HARRY'S AT HOGWARTS. WE'RE FIGHTING. COME TO HOG'S HEAD' was what it read. She felt her heart start beating faster. She didn't know whether what she was feeling was fear, excitement or yet something entirely different but it got her out of her apathy and made her look up at her brother and his wife who were still sitting on the couch. Bill must have somehow sensed her movement for he turned around and faced her.

'What's up?' he asked, looking at her expectantly. She responded by giving him the galleon to look at. He read the message and then looked back at her while passing the galleon to Fleur.

'I'm going there' she stated even though she was sure he already knew that. She could see he grimaced but then decided not to say anything.

Ginny got up from the armchair. She wasn't going to waste a single second, she wanted to go now, with or without her brother. It didn't look like he was going to let her go alone though.

'Alright, let's go then' he said while raising from his position on a couch. Fleur was soon to follow him, a little scared but determined look on her face. Ginny felt a new portion of warm feelings for the woman develop inside her. She moved to the door but Bill was soon to stop her.

'No not this way' he said, gesturing for her to come back.

'What?' she didn't understand what he wanted to do, weren't they supposed to go?

'We can't go there by apparition. If it is as you said an You Know Who expects Harry to go to Hogwarts there is a fair chance he's monitoring all the ways to get there. It wouldn't be the first time he had Death Eaters awaiting people apparating to some area. We better use floo' she had to admit it all sounded logical. She mentally scolded herself for not thinking about it. _You're not going to go far, jumping into action head first without a single thought._ But then something important occurred to her.

'But if he might be monitoring apparition wouldn't he monitor floo network too?'

'Most probably he is. But before some Death Eater at the Ministry sees us flooing there in the records we'll be long gone' that said he moved towards the fireplace. 'I'll go first and you right after me' he looked at her for confirmation and she nodded her head. That agreed he took a handful of floo powder and after throwing it at his feet and saying 'Hog's Head' disappeared. That left her and Fleur alone in the living room.

'Alright, you go' Ginny heard the older girl say. 'I'll be right behind you.'

Ginny only looked at her and then stepped into the fireplace and did the same as her brother. It was only a second before she felt herself spinning. The travel was far too long for her liking and when it finally ended she was so dizzy she would have landed on the floor if it wasn't for her brother catching her.

'Watch it' he said, chuckling softly. Before she could say anything in response she felt him pull her to the side for there was yet another burst of green flames in the fireplace and a second after Fleur stepped out of it not failing to present her usual grace. She opened her mouth apparently about to say something but Ginny never found out what it was because just at that moment the fire roared once again and no one else but Lee Jordan appeared, closely followed by Fred and George.

'My, just look brother dear, if it isn't our wonderful sister and a bit less wonderful brother accompanied by his absolutely wonderful wife' George exclaimed while taking Fleur's hand in his own and planting a kiss on the top of it. 'Bonjour Madame'

Ginny laughed out loud at his antics. If there was a single disadvantage to staying at the Shell Cottage for the past few weeks it was inability to see her two twin brothers. She started opening her mouth in order to greet the newly arrived trio but a voice interrupted her that meade all six of them jump a foot in the air.

'Are you done already?' she turned around only to see an elderly man standing there, looking all but pleased. She thought he looked somehow familiar and then realised that it was the pub's owner.

'Aberforth' she heard Fred say 'how's going, man? Haven't seen us in a while have you?'

'I would be much better without seeing you at all' he grumbled. 'How many more of you is going to come here?' before any of them could respond he waved his hand. 'Never mind, move from here you lot before one of those idiots out there hears you and comes to see what's going on. I don't think they are dumb enough to believe any more fairytales tonight.'

Ginny didn't stop to wonder what the man her brother called Aberforth meant by that, instead she followed him and the rest of the company upstairs. They all stopped in one of the rooms and before any of them had a chance to ask what were they supposed to do now, she noticed him come up to a large painting. To her astonishment he swung it open revealing a dark corridor.

'This way. Get out and leave me alone' he said and she thought she heard him mutter 'bloody kids' under his breath.

'Thanks Abe' said George. She looked at him only to notice he was the first one to move and come up to the painting.

'Yeah, thanks man, see you around' that was Fred, he followed his twin and now they were both climbing up and entering the corridor behind the painting. Making up her mind quickly Ginny was the next to follow the two of them. Her two brothers pulled her up and soon all six of them were in the corridor. The door closed behind them and Fred and George lit up their wands.

'Wonder where this one ends' Fred started musing out loud. 'It wasn't on the map, was it?'

'No' George confirmed. 'Well, there's no point in waiting there. Let's go' that said he started moving forward and they all followed him.

'So what are you lot doing here?' Ginny asked her brothers and Lee. It was Fred who responded.

'We got the message' he said. 'And speaking of which, looks like someone had a busy day.'

'Yeah' started George 'maybe you will tell us what the three of them were doing at Gringotts?'

'Stuff' was all she said. The truth was far too complicated to start explaining it now, not that she had any right to do so anyway. George's question though made her start thinking about the situation they were currently in. While she knew what Harry came to Hogwarts for she didn't know what was going to happen to all those people who were going to show up. It was obvious that no matter what Neville said in his message they weren't fighting. Or at least she hoped they weren't. Her previous thoughts of Voldemort coming to the castle returned. If it did happen, and she knew all too well that the odds were big, then all the people at Hogwarts would be in danger. The students as well as the ones who would come after receiving the message and maybe even more. She didn't want to think about it. The further down the corridor the more scared she was. She never considered herself a fearful person, hell, she fought in a battle already and more than one too. She wasn't scared when she followed Harry to the Department of Mysteries, nor when she had to fight at Hogwarts last June or in August during the Death Eaters' attack. No, she wasn't scared then. But she was now. She felt the fear envelope her. It was different this time, she knew it. Should the fight take place today it wasn't going to be just any fight, nothing like the ones she saw before. It was going to be The Fight, the one that would mark the turning point for the war.

Ginny was brought out of her musing by someone tapping her on the shoulder. She glanced up and saw Bill looking at her.

'You're still with us?' he asked. She wondered how long she's been lost in her thoughts this time.

'Yeah' she responded. 'Just thinking.'

Bill looked at her worriedly but decided not to say anything. She looked away from him and moved her glance to Fred and George who were still leading the conduct. It looked as if they were cracking jokes and Lee and Fleur were laughing. She smiled in spite of herself. It was good to have the two of them around in moments like that. She honestly didn't know if there was something that would make her brothers' cheerful demeanour disappear. They continued their walk for some more time until the light coming from Fred and George's wand fell on the door. There were voice coming from behind it and once the twins pushed it open she saw a room full of people.

Ginny took in the scene before her. The room she was looking at was quite spacious, there were the Houses' hangings all around the place as well as hammocks. Among all these there was a crowd of about thirty people. She could see Dean, Seamus, Luna, Neville, Lavender and both Patil twins, as well as Michael Corner, Cho Chang and several more. And then closest to her were the three people she only said goodbye to this morning.

The trio must had heard them enter for they all turned to see where the noise came from. One look at Harry's face was enough to let her know that things were bad. He was obviously in a lot of pain from his scar and if she was not mistaken he was also rather frustrated about something. She could tell that he was surprised to see them. He took the six of them in and then returned his glance to her once more. She gave him the most radiant smile she could manage and he responded with a small one of his own.

Ginny pushed past the twins and entered the room. Fred followed right behind her.

'Aberforth's getting a bit annoyed' he called. 'He wants a kip, and his bar's turned into a railway

station.' There were several laughs at that. While the rest of her companions was climbing through the entrance she came to Harry and took his hand.

'A dragon, huh?' she asked in a mock scolding tone. 'I told you not to do anything stupid. Riding a dragon hardly counts as not stupid' she was hoping to lift his spirits at least a bit and it seemed that her little scheme succeeded.

'Sorry, I must have forgotten in the heat of the action' he said, a little crooked smile forming on his lips. He squeezed her hand lightly and apparently was about to say something before he was interrupted.

'So what's the plan, Harry?' she heard George ask. She shot a glance at the boy beside her and saw him get the somehow frustrated look again. She wondered what had happened there before they came.

'There isn't one' he said while creasing his forehead, apparently trying to somehow ease the pain radiating from the scar.

'Just going to make it up as we go along, are we? My favourite kind' said Fred.

At this Harry turned to Neville.

'You've got to stop this!' he told him. 'What did you call them all back for? This is insane…'.

It looked as if he shared her opinion on the message Neville had sent through the coins. She could only hope though that he wasn't thinking about her while saying that. _I'm not coming back and he better realises that. _She knew Harry well enough to know that that would be exactly the kind of thing he would want her to do. He hated people getting hurt because of him but then again he should know better than to think she would leave him there alone. Her musings were stopped by another voice speaking up.

'We're fighting aren't we?' said Dean, taking out his fake Galleon. 'The message said Harry was back, and we were going to fight! I'll have to get a wand, though…'

'You haven't got a wand…?' she heard Seamus say but at the same time Ron turned to Harry.

'Why can't they help?'

'What?' Harry looked rather confused and truth be told Ginny didn't really know what her brother was getting on about either.

'They can help' he said and then proceeded to explain in a whisper, so that no one but them could hear. 'We don't know where it is, We've got to find it fast. We don't have to tell them it's a Horcrux.'

Ginny had to admit what Ron was saying was making sense. Not to Harry though it seemed, for he looked definitely unconvinced.

'He's got the point, you know' she started. 'There really isn't much time, we could use help' she used the plural as a way of signalising to him she was going to help them too, but he either missed it or chose not to comment. Upon seeing he still wasn't convinced she added 'Oh, come on Harry, you don't have to do everything alone.'

She could tell the last comment had an effect she hoped for. He started thinking and after a while made up his mind.

'Alright' he said to them, and then raised his voice for the rest of the room to hear him as well.

'Okay' he called and the room fell silent. 'There's something we need to find. Something…something

that'll help us overthrow You-Know-Who. It's here at Hogwarts, but we don't know where. It might have belonged to Ravenclaw. Has anyone heard of an object like that? Has anyone ever come across something with her eagle on it, for instance?'

Ginny saw him direct a hopeful look towards the group of Ravenclaws consisting of Terry, Cho, Padma and Michael, but instead it was Luna who spoke.

'Well, that's her lost diadem. I told you about it, remember, Harry? The lost diadem of Ravenclaw? Daddy's trying to duplicate it.'

'Yeah, but the lost diadem' said Michael Corner, rolling his eyes 'is _lost_, Luna. That's sort of the point.'

_The git_. She never liked the guy. He always thought he knew everything best and made rude comments, often putting other people down. _So what it's lost? The bloody wanker had found the Chamber which was not even lost but supposed to be nonexistent. Surely he might had found a diadem._ She stopped her train of thoughts in order to look at Harry and see what he was thinking about it.

'When was it lost?' he asked.

'Centuries ago, they say' that was said by Cho and Ginny saw his face fall. 'Professor Flitwick says the diadem vanished with Ravenclaw herself. People have looked, but' she appealed to her fellow Ravenclaws 'nobody's ever found a trace of it, have they?'

They all shook their heads. Then she heard Ron ask.

'Sorry, but what _is_ a diadem?'

Ginny couldn't help but roll her eyes at her idiot of a brother.

'It's a kind of crown' explained Terry Boot. 'Ravenclaw's was supposed to have magical properties, enhance the wisdom of the wearer.'

'Yes, Daddy's Wrackspurt siphons…' started Luna in her usual dreamy voice but Harry cut across her.

'And none of you have ever seen anything that looks like it?' he asked and after seeing everyone shake their head looked at her first and then at Ron and Hermione. Ginny could see disappointed looks on all of their faces and she suspected she was wearing one herself too.

'If you'd like to see what the diadem's supposed to look like,' Cho begun and Ginny turned her head in the girl's direction 'I could take you up to our common room and show you, Harry. Ravenclaw's wearing it in her statue.'

_Oh no, you couldn't. _Ginny knew she was being ridiculous. There were much more important things to think about right now than a beautiful Asian girl who'd been trying to get her claws into her boyfriend since pretty much forever. She remembered when she mentioned to Harry once how she'd seen Cho ogle him in a way which was, mildly put, improper in public areas such as the Great Hall for about the hundredth time that day. Al he did was shrug but instead he found her little display of jealousy highly amusing.

Suddenly, she felt Harry's grip on her hand loosen. She looked at him only to see his eyes get cloudy and in the next second he swayed a bit on his feet. Before she had time to reach out and keep him from collapsing he got out of his vision and looked at the three of them.

'He's on the move' he said and they all glanced at each other nervously. Time was running out.

'Listen' he said 'I know it's not much of a lead, but I'm going to go and look at this statue, at least find out what the diadem looks like. Wait for me here and keep, you know…the other one…safe' the last bit was directed at Ron and Hermione and she saw the two of them nod. That said he looked at Cho who got to her feet in an instant.

'No, Luna will take Harry, won't you, Luna?' she heard herself say before she could even think about it. Harry glanced at her rising one eyebrow. A corner of his mouth twitched. _Well, at least you cheered him up._

'Oooh, yes, I'd like to,' said Luna happily, and Cho sat down again, looking disappointed.

'How do we get out?' Harry asked Neville.

'Over there' her friend said. After looking at the three of them and giving her hand a squeeze Harry let him lead himself and Luna into a corner of the room.

As soon as she saw Harry and Luna leave Ginny turned to Ron and Hermione.

'So what happened at Gringotts?' she asked the two of them in a quiet voice, so that no one would hear them talking.

Ron grimaced.

'It went wrong from the beginning. First Hermione was just too nice to everyone and then Travers showed up and decided to tag along. And if that wasn't enough of luck for today someone must have let them lot at Gringotts know that Bellatrix lost her wand for the goblin at the desk asked Hermione for it and from then on it was only worse. Harry had o imperiuse both the goblin and Travers to get us going...'

'He imperiused them?' Ginny couldn't help but interrupt her brother. It's not like she saw any other solution to the situation but the information that Harry imperiused someone took her a little by surprise.

'Yeah' her brother confirmed. 'And good he thought about it or we wouldn't have gotten anywhere. So then we went underground and to the vault but all the stuff in there was charmed and when we touched it, it would multiply and burn and then we got the cup but lost the sword, Griphook took it when Harry dropped it and then all those people appeared and we started fighting and then Harry released the dragon and told us to climb up...' _But of course_. She should have known it was his idea. But then again after listening to Ron recount all this she hardly even minded. _It's a wonder they even got out of there in one piece_ she thought. But then something else her brother had mentioned registered with her.

'Wait, you said you lost the sword?' she asked, hoping she just misunderstood him. How were they to destroy the Horcruxes without it?

'Yeah. So even if we find the one in here we're still screwed cause we have no way to get rid of it and the cup too.'

Ginny saw how both his and Hermione's faces fell at that. She started thinking hard, wishing to find a solution to this but came up with nothing. Just when she started thinking about something else to talk about Hermione gasped. She looked up only to see the older girl wearing that excited look on her face she would always get when she came up with something.

'Ron, I've got it!' she exclaimed. 'Come on' she said and started pulling him towards the direction in which Harry and Luna went to leave.

'Wait, where are you going?' she called after them while trying to catch up with her brother and friend.

'The bathroom' Hermione said. 'Wait here.'

'The bathroom? What...?' Ginny started asking but it was too late. The two of them had already disappeared. She moved to sit on one of the still empty couches and started absent-mindedly playing with the band on her finger.

'Haven't seen you in a while' a voice made her look up. 'How have you been?' It was Neville, he sat next to her and was now looking at her expectantly.

She only now noticed how his face has changed since the last time she'd seen him. There were several cuts that weren't there before and even more bruises. She wondered how bad things have been there while she was gone.

'Alright' she responded. 'My parents had taken me to my aunt's house but then few weeks ago Bill saved me and I've been staying with him and Fleur up until now' she paused there and instead asked him. 'And you? How have you been? You look horrible.'

Neville only laughed at that.

'Why, don't you know how to compliment someone' he chuckled but then got a more serious look on his face. 'The Carrows got worse than ever after Easter Break. That's kind of why we're all here. We had to find ourselves a place to hide from them.'

Ginny wondered how much worse was 'worse than ever' but before she had a chance to find out the passageway opened once again and this time Kingsley and Lupin stepped out. Right after them came Oliver Wood, Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet. Ginny saw her brothers and Fleur moving towards them and she also stood up and went to greet the newly arrived. After all the 'hellos' were exchanged she just stood there with them half-listening to their conversation. She saw more and more people arrive, members of the Order and Dumbledore's Army and some other ones. Soon she found herself not paying attention to what was going on around her, too lost in her own thoughts. She was analysing everything that's happened so far. She could hardly believe how much has changed since the morning. If someone had told her only twelve hours ago that soon she would be in Hogwarts awaiting what could very well turn out to be the decisive point of the war she would have laughed them out. But there she was now. Harry had another Horcrux and was about to find one more. If they found a way to destroy them without the sword there would be only Nagini left. It would be almost the end. Hope and fear were battling inside her for yet another time that today.

Suddenly a voice right next to her interrupted her thoughts.

'Mum! Dad!' that was Fred. She looked around startled and noticed two more people coming out of the passageway into the impossibly crowded room.

Her parents looked in the direction the call came from and upon seeing all of them standing there rushed to join them.

'What are you lot doing here?' her mum asked. She obviously didn't like most of her children present at the site of an upcoming battle.

'We came to fight, obviously' stated George and Ginny saw her mother wasn't pleased with the response one bit. She opened her mouth to say something more to her son but then her eyes fell upon her.

'Ginny!' Molly cried and she knew nothing good was coming. 'And just what are YOU doing here?' she demanded.

Ginny felt herself getting annoyed as it always happened when her mother was trying to exclude her from something and treat her as a baby. Her temper rising she responded just as fiercely.

'I'm fighting!'

'You're doing no such thing, young lady!' She clenched her fists at that. Even though she expected to hear nothing less it still made her angry with the woman. She heard the most rebellious part of her saying _I'd love to see you stop me._ She knew her mum was just worried about her exactly as she was about all of her children but it didn't stop her from feeling that she was being treated completely unfairly and wishing to be for once seen not as a child pepole believed to be and which she hasn't been for all too long now.

'You can't stop me! All my family's here and my friends and Harry, I'm not leaving!' she nearly shouted.

Her mother's response was stopped by Lupin.

'Harry, what's happening?'

Ginny shifted her gaze from her mother to the man and then to the spot he was looking at. And indeed, Harry was there looking as if he's just been running.

'Voldemort's on his way, they're barricading the school…Snape's run for it…What are you doing here? How did you know?'

So there was a battle brewing. Ginny felt the flow of adrenaline that always accompanied her in moments like that.

'We sent messages to the rest of Dumbledore's Army' Fred explained. 'You couldn't expect everyone to miss the fun, Harry, and the D.A. let the Order of the Phoenix know, and it all kind of snowballed.'

'What first, Harry?' called George. 'What's going on?'

'They're evacuating the younger kids and everyone's meeting in the Great Hall to get organized' Harry said. 'We're fighting.'

Ginny heard the room roar with applause and then everyone at once rushed towards the foot of the stairs pressing Harry against the wall. She herself was feeling so many things she could barely tell them apart. There was a bit of fear, but also anticipation and excitement as well as the readiness for the fight that was coming.

As the crowd thinned Harry moved from his position and approached their group that now consisted of her, her parents and brothers, Fleur and Lupin.

Seeing the commotion was over her mother turned back on her.

'You're going home right now!' she ordered and Ginny felt anger join all her other emotions.

'I'm not...' she started but this time Molly didn't let her finish.

'You're underage!' she shouted. 'I won't permit it! They boys, yes, but you, you've got to get home!'

Ginny's insides were almost boiling. Why wasn't her mother getting it?

'I won't go home! I'm not going to wait there alone for somebody to come and tell me any of you have died!' she shrieked, close to tears now. She blinked rapidly, not allowing her emotions to take over her. 'I'm staying here and I want to help!'

She looked over to Harry for support. One glance at his face was enough to let her know what exactly he was thinking. He wanted her to go home. She knew why, she knew he loved her and only wanted her safe but it did nothing to keep her from feeling betrayed. She met his eyes and he must have understood what she was thinking for his features shifted and now showed slight hesitation. He struggled with himself but then opened his mouth clearly about to say something only to be interrupted by yet another person stumbling out of the passageway.

'Am I too late? Has it started? I only just found out, so I…I…' Ginny and everyone else looked in shock at the tall figure with red hair and horn-rimmed glasses.

They were all silent. Finally Fleur decided to break the tension.

'So, how is little Teddy?' she asked, while turning to Lupin. Ginny saw him blink, he seemed a little startled by the sudden question but then he must have caught on to what the French girl was trying to do.

'I…oh yes…he's fine!' he said loudly. 'Yes, Tonks is with him…at her mother's…' Ginny was looking between the two of them and her family. All of the Weasleys were looking at Percy wearing shocked expressions on their faces. She herself wasn't sure what she was feeling. Part of her was shocked just as everyone else, but the other part was furious with the pompous prat. _It's been almost three years now, what is he thinking, showing up in here as if nothing's ever happened._ But no matter all that she was a little happy to see her brother after all that time. Even if he wasn't her absolute favourite in the whole family he was still a family and she wanted her family to be back together.

'Here, I've got a picture!' Lupin shouted and started rummaging inside his jacket's pocket. He pulled out a photograph and she saw Fleur and Harry look at it. She figured they both must have felt equally awkward in this situation. Ginny saw them smile and she started to wonder what the picture showed but then another shout brought her out of her musings.

'I was a fool!' Percy roared, making all of them jump. 'I was an idiot, I was a pompous prat, I was a…a…'

'Ministry-loving, family-disowning, power-hungry moron' Fred supplied.

Percy swallowed.

'Yes, I was!'

'Well, you can't say fairer that that' said the twin, holding out his hand to Percy.

Ginny almost laughed out at her brother's antics. Nonetheless though, it was good to see her pompous prat of a brother finally making up with the rest of the family. Next thing she knew her mother was bursting into tears and running towards Percy to pull him in a bone-crushing hug. He patted her on the back while looking towards their father.

'I'm sorry, Dad' he said.

Ginny noticed her dad blink rather rapidly but then he hurried to hug Percy too.

'What made you see sense, Perce?' inquired George.

'It's been coming on for a while' said Percy. 'But I had to find a way out and it's not so easy at the Ministry, they're imprisoning traitors all the time. I managed to make contact with Aberforth and he tipped me off ten minutes ago that Hogwarts was going to make a fight for it, so here I am.'

'Well, we do look to our prefects to take a lead at times such as these' said George in what Ginny dimmed a really good imitation of Percy's most pompous manner. 'Now let's get upstairs and fight, or all the good Death Eaters'll be taken.'

That said him and the twins hurried off towards the stairs. Ginny looked at Harry. He came closer to her and took her hand.

'Where are Ron and Hermione?' he asked, only now noticing their other two friends were missing.

'They left not long after you. Hermione was saying something about a bathroom' Ginny frowned while saying that, she still had no idea what the girl had meant by that.

'Bathroom?' Harry seemed just as puzzled by this as her.

'I have no idea either. We better go look for them, come on' she said and started pulling him towards the staircase.

'Ginny!' her mother's bark made her cringe and grit her teeth. She thought they were over this already.

'Mum, I told you I'm not going back home.'

'I don't care what you told me, you're...' Molly Weasley started but was interrupted by her eldest son.

'Mum' Bill started 'Ginny's right, you can hardly expect her to go home and wait while we are all here' he said before glancing at her and Harry. Ginny didn't think she ever loved her brother more than at this moment. It was the last thing one would expect, after all. As her eldest brother he was supposed to be the one most protective of her, but instead he was the most understanding out of all of her family and the last one to treat her as a baby. He was the only one apart from Harry she'd ever mentioned the Chamber to and the first one before her Hogwarts years she would go to for comfort and advice.

'She's too young!' Molly said, definitely not going to give up.

'She's almost seventeen' Bill countered 'and she's been in enough fights already to know what she's doing.'

'That's exactly what I'm talking about! She's been getting into trouble all the time, risking her life. It's too dangerous!'

'Mum...' Ginny started but was cut off by Harry.

'Mrs. Weasley, she's not even going to fight, she'll be with Ron, Hermione and I' he said and upon seeing everyone's surprised and inquiring looks elaborated. 'We need to find something in the castle, that's actually what we've came here for. Once we're done we can put Ginny back in here, she'll be close to everyone and she'll be safe...' he trailed off and gave her what seemed to be a speaking glance. She had no idea what he meant though. Was he trying to tell her he's just trying to convince her parents and isn't actually planning on having her stay in there once the real fight begins? Or was it just a silent plead to keep quiet and let him try to get her out of that bloody room? Whichever it was, she didn't say anything and just hoped her mother would change her mind. She looked at her expecting her to say something but instead it was Lupin who spoke.

'It's actually pretty good idea Molly. If they're just going to run around the castle searching for something I don't see how it would be dangerous. And then she can wait here, away from the spell fire.'

Ginny wasn't sure if actually believed Harry but the fact was that her mother's face changed slightly.

'I...'

'That's a good idea' she heard her dad say, taking part in the discussion for the first time. She met his eyes and saw what seemed like an understanding in them.

She didn't wait for anyone to add anything, but just pulled Harry towards the stairs as she'd previously meant to.

* * *

Ginny was tired. It was early morning now and the sun hasn't even rose properly yet. She stood in the Great Hall watching her family gathered over Fred's lifeless body. She swallowed hard and blinked fast several times, trying to push back the tears that were threatening to spill ever since the wall had exploded. She wasn't going to cry, no. When she first entered the Great Hall what seemed like hours ago she felt numb. All those people laying there...she could hardly believe it. She saw her parents and brothers next to Fred on the floor, George's heart-wrenching sobs could be heard from the doorway where they were standing. Ron was first to go, slowly accompanied by Hermione. She stood there for a while longer, partially because she was simply too shocked to gain any control of her body and make a move and partially because she was taking it all in. Fear gripping her heart she was looking from one body to another, hoping she would see none of her friends. Halfway through she felt herself freeze again. There, laid on the cold stone floor with their hands joined were Lupin and Tonks. Ginny found herself unable to breathe, big lump forming in her throat. She could not believe it, she didn't want to believe it. Her thoughts drifted to Teddy, sweet little Teddy, with his chubby little fists and turquoise hair she saw in the picture Remus was so proudly presenting all those days ago at the Shell Cottage. He was now an orphan, barely a month old. She pushed the images of the tiny baby out of her mind and slowly walked over to her family. She could barely hear what was happening around her, but it was probably good thing. It would be so much harder, standing there and trying not to break down while hearing all the sobs that were filling the large room. She stood there for Merlin knows how long, staring at her brothers pale face. His eyes were thankfully closed but there wasn't a smile on his lips anymore. She heard his laugh in her head again, his last laugh. It was so fitting for him, to die laughing. Her throat constricted dangerously at the thought. She couldn't stay here any longer, she knew she would just break down. And she couldn't break down. It was not over yet. She looked around trying to seek out Harry's unruly hair amongst all those people but he was nowhere to be seen. She felt herself panic. _Calm down, he must have gone to watch this memory_. The realisation drove the sudden fear away. She looked at Fred for one last time and then moved to walk away.

'Where are you going?' she heard someone ask, while simultaneously they gripped her shoulder. She turned around and faced Bill. There were tear-tracks on his cheeks and his eyes were red.

'To help. There are still people injured all around there.' she knew that was the best she could do right now. There was no point staying in there, surrounded by all those bodies. The time for pain and mourning would come but now she had to be strong and go and help whoever needed her.

Her brother just nodded.

'I think...' he swallowed, she noticed his voice was breaking. 'I think I'll help out too.'

All she did was nod, for the fear that if she opened her mouth nothing but a cry of anguish would come out.

They left the Hall together but once outside they parted. He moved in the direction of what were now the remains of the Great Staircase and she went outside. There were few people out there already. She started looking around seeking for someone in need. She was walking around, asking how everyone felt and whether they were injured. Her mind was only half focused on what she was doing, images of the past hours going through her head. Screams, jets of light flying through the air, crunching noises of the walls breaking and windows smashing, roaring of the Fiendfire, mix of images, sounds, all of them tinged with adrenaline and fear.

She felt exhausted. It was too much. She wanted nothing more than for it to end finally so that she would go and rest, escape the turmoil of emotions in her mind.

She stopped and looked around. There didn't seem to be anyone else on the grounds. Her, Neville and few others had already gotten everyone inside, healing the minor injuries the best they could and providing as much comfort and support as they were able to. But now there was no one else around to help, no one to comfort. She just stood in one place, not moving. It was silent. The kind of silence that would always precede the thunder, when air was heavy and you could feel the building tension.

'Gin.'

She jumped and looked around. It was barely a whisper. Could she have just imagined it? _No._ She knew this voice far too well to have mistaken it for anything else. He was nowhere to be seen but she just knew he was there. She reached out with her hand and started feeling out the space around her until she grabbed a handful of silky fabric. Feeling strangely apprehensive she pulled and Harry came into view in front of her.

She knew right away that something was wrong. There was some eerie sense of calmness to him. He wore an expression on his face that she'd never seen before. There was determination in it, but also longing for something. And fear. He was hiding it well but she saw it anyway. He was scared.

Ginny felt a cold hand of dread clench around her heart. _No._

'Where are you going?' she asked in a quiet and slightly trembling voice.

'Gin...' this time his whisper was even quieter than before. She saw him swallow, the look he was giving her told her everything.

'NO.' it came out much stronger than she expected it to. He was not doing it, she was not letting him.

'Ginny, please' he looked more heartbroken than she's ever seen him. 'I have to...'

'Fuck, Harry! Stop being so fucking noble! You don't have to do anything!' she shouted. Why was he doing it, why was he stupid enough to believe he could stop it by giving up? What did he think he was going to achieve? 'You hear me?! You don't have to do anything, Harry, it won't stop him...!' her voice was rising all the while she was saying that and now she was almost yelling at him.

'You don't understand!' it was his turn to shout.

'Don't understand?' she shrieked. 'What exactly don't I understand? That you're giving up? That you're leaving me here? That...'

'I'm a Horcrux!'

She froze.

Her heart was thumping in her chest just a second ago but now it stopped. All her anger, her frustration with him had disappeared. She felt nothing. Her mind was empty, only one word, clearer than any other thought she'd ever had before, was reverberating in her brain.

_Horcrux._

She felt the tears that were gathering inside her for hours now finally find their release.

_Horcrux._

'What...?' it came out as a squeak, her throat was clenched and she knew she was going to give into sobs in a second.

'It was in Snape's memory' he started, his voice quiet and calm, but his eyes were betraying all the emotions battling inside him. 'Dumbledore figured it out, that's how I was able to speak Parsletongue and see into Voldemort's mind. He made Snape promise him he'll tell me that on the night Voldemort had tried to kill me as a baby a part of his soul was ripped away and it latched itself onto me' he stopped there, apparently unable to continue. But Ginny was grateful, for she wasn't sure if she could take anymore. The first sob escaped her and she felt herself being pulled into a forceful embrace. She wrapped her arms around Harry's neck and cried onto his shoulder. She felt several wet drops fall on the top of her head and sink into her hair and realised he must have started crying too.

'I don't want to die.'

His whisper was barely audible but she could make out the trembling in his voice. She didn't respond. He didn't expect her to and there was nothing she could say. As much as she wanted to she knew she couldn't stop him. He wouldn't listen. She tightened her grip on him and felt him do the same. They stayed like that for what seemed like years and milliseconds at the same time. Finally his embrace loosened. His arms barely even moved but she knew what he had meant. _No_ she thought. She hugged him even tighter, she wasn't letting go of him. The war be damned, he couldn't die.

'Gin, please' he sounded broken and pleading. He loosened his grip even more and moved away slightly, still holding her by her waist. She looked up and met his emerald eyes that were now filled with pain, just as she was sure her own were. He leaned his forehead against hers.

'I love you.'

The lump in her throat made it almost impossible for her to speak but she managed the few last words to him.

'I love you too.'

He smiled lightly through the tears but all too soon his face fell again. She felt him pull her closer to him for one last time. She hugged him tightly and he embraced her with one arm while tangling his other hand into her hair. She pressed her face against his neck and felt him plant a kiss on the top of her head. She closed her eyes just in time to feel him tighten the embrace for a while and then release her completely. She didn't try to stop him his time, instead she just stood there, her eyes still closed and silent tears streaming down her cheeks. She heard silent shuffling in front of her as Harry picked up his cloak form the ground and then threw it over himself. Then there was silence and finally the quietest of footsteps. She stood in place for few more seconds before feeling her legs fail her and falling to her knees, the sobs rocking her body.

* * *

Bill was standing in the Great Hall looking at his sister. She was sitting on the floor crying, with her back pressed against the wall. She's been staying like that for the last five minutes, ever since he'd brought her here from the grounds. He had no idea what had happened. He figured she had just finally broken down. He knew she was trying to keep her emotions at bay so far but apparently one could only take so much before exploding. He observed her closely, she had her legs pulled up to her chin and her arms were wrapped around her knees. She kept her hands joined, twisting her fingers. He moved his glance towards the rest of his family. They were all still perched at both sides of Fred. Fleur was helping the injured people just as he was doing himself until just a while ago. He looked at his sister once more. She was still twisting her fingers. No, she wasn't twisting her fingers. She was fumbling with something she kept in one of her hands...The realisation hit him like a blow to the head. She was fumbling with her band, the band he had given to her last summer. It didn't take him long to connect the dots. _No, that's impossible. He would never do that_ he tried to convince himself but found it harder than he would have ever expected it to be. Looking at Ginny only seemed to confirm his suspicions. He tried but failed to understand what had happened. From the very morning of the previous day so many things had happened he could barely embrace them all. And now that he was watching her co broken he could not help but feel the new wave of pain wash over him. He'd already lost one brother today, he didn't want to lose another, for Harry was just like any other member of the family to him. His gloomy thoughts were interrupted by a cry of 'NO!' coming from under the wall.

* * *

Ice.

Ginny felt ice and it made her freeze and then cry out.

'NO!'

New, forceful sobs shook her body. The band on her finger, just a moment ago hot and pulsing with a soft glow was now dull and ice cold. It felt as if she was touching his cold dead body. His dead body that has just fallen to the ground somewhere in the Forbidden Forrest. She took the ring off her finger and pushed it inside her jeans' pocket, as deep as she could, and then curled in a ball and let the cries of pain flow freely from her mouth. She thought she'd felt a hand touching her back and then a pair of strong arms encircling themselves around her and Bill's soft comforting voice next to her ear. She cried harder and harder for what seemed like forever to her. She couldn't believe it had happened. The very thing that she feared so much. She remembered how she thought Harry won't stand a chance against Voldemort. She felt sick, her stomach twisted and she couldn't help thinking that it was all her fault, that somehow she had brought the death upon him. She heard Bill whisper some nonsense into her ear. She leaned into his embrace and let him hold her.

All kinds of thoughts were going through her head. Most of them were those about Harry, various memories of him, one of them the scene that had just played out a while ago. It felt surreal, thinking of him like that, remembering him knowing that he was dead, while she could still feel his embrace and his soft kiss on her hair. And then thoughts of Voldemort. She knew it was not over, no it was only beginning. Now that Harry was no more it fell upon them to get rid of him and end that war.

It fell upon HER.

The thought hit her. That was it, she knew it. It was all she could do now, end what he had started, finish this for him. She knew he would never in the world ask that of her, moreover, he would do everything to stop her if he were there. But he wasn't. And Voldemort was and somebody had to finish him off.

She forced the sobs still escaping her mouth to stop. She fought with herself and all the pain she was feeling, that has been accumulating inside her for the last hours and that was now being released. She breather deeply and after a while felt herself calm down a bit. The pain was still there but she was no longer a crying bundle in her brother's arms. She straightened up and wiped at her wet cheeks. She saw her brother looking at her from her right and turned to face him. He was gazing at her with concern, and she noticed a fair share of the pain she was feeling mirrored on his own face. She wondered if she should say something to him but decided against it and instead just looked him in the eyes and then reverted her gaze. She looked around. The bodies were no longer there, they must have moved them somewhere. She started staring at the opposite wall, trying to clear her mind form all thoughts of death and battle. She had to focus if she were to do what she were supposed to do. Her thoughts were interrupted by the voice reverberating through the castle grounds.

'Harry Potter is dead. He was killed as he ran away, trying to save himself while you lay down your lives for him. We bring you his body as proof that your hero is gone. The battle is won. You have lost half of your fighters. My Death Eaters outnumber you, and the Boy Who Lived is finished. There must be no more war. Anybody who continues to resist, man, woman, or child, will be slaughtered, as will every member of their family. Come out of the castle now, kneel before me, and you shall be spared. Your parents and children, your brothers and sisters will live and be forgiven, and you will join me in the new world we shall build together.'

Ginny felt fury build up inside her. _That bastard! How dare he! He doesn't honestly think any of us is stupid enough to believe this bullshit!_ Her temper rising, she looked around the room. Everyone was silent, expressions varied from shocked to disbelieving. She looked briefly at her family, Hermione and Fleur. They looked frozen in their places. Suddenly, as if some spell broke everyone moved towards the castle's entrance. Ginny got up too and followed everyone, extracting her wand from her pocket, new determination taking over her.

Once she stepped outside the doorway she saw them. Voldemort was standing at the front, right beside him was Hagrid and in his arms...No. She didn't want to see it. But she couldn't stop herself. There he was, lying dead in his friends arms. Ginny looked away before she could break down again and instead focused her attention on Voldemort.

She wasn't the only one to notice what had taken place. The more people appeared in the doorway the more of them saw Harry's lifeless body. If they still had any hopes that it was just a lie they have disappeared now.

'NO!' McGonagall's scream was first and after that others followed. They continued for a while until Voldemort silenced them.

'SILENCE!' he cried and Ginny felt a heavy layer of magic fall upon them. Everybody went silent. 'It's over! Set him down, Hagrid, at my feet, where he belongs!'

A new portion of rage enveloped her. Gripping her want tighter she was looking straight at the snake-like face of the man who had just murdered the one supposed to bring an end to this war. A man who has murdered countless others, men, women, children. With every passing second her hatred was rising. She felt her magic pulse in her body. People were yelling something around her again but she wasn't paying attention, focusing on the one responsible for all of it. Lost in her thoughts Ginny barely registered Neville stepping forward, but then a sudden burst of flames caught her attention. She looked at the scene unfolding in front of her and could barely believe her eyes. There, right in front of Voldemort, Neville was standing, stiff and rigid, the Sorting Hat burning on the top of his head. New, bigger rage erupted inside her. Ginny moved to help her friend but then several things happened at once that made her stop dead in her tracks.

She heard an uproar and then the noise of hundreds of hooves hitting the ground, just as the rain of arrows fell on the Death Eaters. At the same time Grawp came around the side of the castle yelling 'HAGGER!'. And apart from all that she noticed Neville break the Body-Bind Curse that was placed upon him and then, in one fluid movement reach into the Hat that has fallen off his head, draw something silver and ruby from its inside and slash through the air, slicing off Nagini's head.

Ginny saw Voldemort's mouth open in a scream of fury that was inaudible amongst all the other noises. But somebody else's voice was as clear and loud as ever.

'HARRY!' Hagrid shouted. 'HARRY…WHERE'S HARRY?'

Ginny had no time to look around and see what he was talking about for the fight had started again. Centaurs were scattering the Death Eaters and everyone was moving back inside the castle and to the Entrance Hall. Ginny followed them, her wand slicing the air with a frantic speed, throwing curses left and right. The House Elves had joined them, she noticed, and were now stabbing the attackers' ankles with knives, forks and whatever else they might have found in the kitchens. Ginny pushed her way through the crowd and into the Great Hall where Voldemort was in the middle, fighting McGonagall, Kingsley and Slughorn, all at the same time. She wanted to go there and help them but just then a green jet of the Killing Curse flew past her ear. She wheeled around and faced Bellatrix Lestrange who was wearing mad expression on her face.

'Ginny Weasley' she said in a mock-girly voice sending another curse at her. Ginny jumped out of the way and responded with few spells of her own, all of them crashing at the woman's shield. Her laugh filled the Great Hall.

'A little feisty, are we?' she said, still using that sickly sweet, mocking tone. 'You're going to fight with me?' she sounded truly surprised, but before the smirk disappeared from her face she fad to jump to the side to avoid being hit by another one of Ginny's curses.

Ginny was faster this time and started firing spell after spell, forcing the other woman to fight back.

'Why so angry?' Bellatrix asked in between the curses, evil smile back on her face. Then she seemed to have gotten an idea. 'Could it be the fact that someone had just died?

A burning jet of energy flew right past the side of the Death Eater's head. Ginny felt her insides boil with rage, her magic bursting, eager to get out and hurt that bitch in front of her.

'Touchy-touchy' she laughed, fighting more fiercely and picking up the pace, making Ginny do the same.

'So how does it feel, Ginny' her mocking smile was driving the Weasley girl mad, she decided she was going to wipe it off her face. 'How do you feel now, that the Chosen One, your precious boyfriend is dead?' she put the extra emphasis on the last word and Ginny responded with a curse that seared through the air, straight into Bellatrix's face. She barely managed to jump out of its way.

Ginny was attacking with even more force now, struggling not to think too much, not to feel the pain the woman was bringing up and instead pouring all her energy into the duel. Her wand was moving faster and faster, obviously not what Lestrange had expected. That didn't make her lose her demeanour though.

'But look at the positive sides' she said again after a while. 'You can finally see what he was feeling, when everyone was dying. His parents first and then my dear cousin and his godfather, the idiot, thinking he...'

'Don't you dare talking about him like that, you bitch!' Ginny shouted, responding for the first time. This must have pleased Bellatrix.

'No?' she inquired innocently. 'Why? Could it be you're missing him too?' she laughed, obviously in her element. Ginny responded with few more fast curses, making Lestrange go out of her way to protect herself against all of them.

'So you do, how charming. I could help you out, you know' she said, malice apparent in her voice. 'Oh, yes. I will just kill you and then you can join him and your lover boy too. And just give me a while and I'll send you some more company. Georgie, maybe, he must be missing his brother by now.'

Ginny was not going to take any more of it. She felt a wild energy swell up inside her, her pain, fury and hatred for the woman fuelling it. She jumped aside dodging yet another Killing Curse and swayed on her legs. Bellatrix threw her head back and laughed out loud.

Everything seemed to slow down for Ginny, the laugh, the posture, she had seen it all before. And then the jet of light, startlingly green, hitting the figure square in the chest.

If she could see the expression on her face she was sure she would have seen her eyes widen in shock, before the life left them a second later. The Great Hall was perfectly silent when Bellatrix Lestrange fell to the floor, her body hitting the cold stone with a loud thud.

Next thing she knew Voldemort's scream of fury was filling the room. She turned in his direction, her wand at ready and saw his three opponents being blasted backwards and him round at her. Before either of them could do anything another voice sounded through the Great Hall.

'PROTEGO!'

Ginny stiffened. She knew it couldn't be true. He was dead, she knew it. For just a second a thought appeared in her mind of Harry coming back from the grave only to stop her from going along with her suicidal plan to battle Voldemort.

All the thoughts flew though her head in a millisecond and then she felt herself being pushed back by a powerful wave of magic, coming from the shield that had risen between her and Voldemort. She looked at the person who cast it only to see Harry, standing in the middle of the Great Hall, a wand in his outstretched hand and the silvery cloak in the other.

She watched in a daze as Voldemort looked at him too and then both of them started moving in a circle, facing each other. She didn't know what was going on, he was supposed to be dead. Maybe it was just her wicked imagination. Or maybe Bellatrix had in fact killed her and that was what afterlife looked like. Or maybe she got knocked out at some point during the battle and she was dreaming it.

They were talking but Ginny was too shocked to make out the sense of the conversation. Her mind was in a turmoil. Suddenly an idea came to her. She reached inside her pocket and retrieved a piece of gold she put there not so long ago. She looked down at the ring in her hand and then put it on her finger. For a second it was cool but then, in just a while, it heated up. Ginny stared at the band in an aw, and then looked up and at Harry, who was now facing the side of the room she was on. She had no idea how it was even possible. He died, but he was there right know, alive and about to finish off his nemesis. For she had no doubt that that was what was going to happen. She felt her confidence from few days ago return to her in a full force. She kept watching the two of them, only half-listening to what they were saying about Snape and Elder Wand. Her impatience growing, she was close to bursting, waiting for Harry to end this so that she could run to him and see for herself that he was indeed real.

The tension grew to the point where she could almost reach out and feel it in the air when two voices called out at the same time.

'Avada Kedavra!'

'Expelliarmus!'

Ginny watched as the two jets of energy collided in the midair and then Voldemort fell dead to the floor, his wand being ripped out from his hand. At that very moment she felt herself jerk forward and then start running to the man standing in the middle of the Great Hall, his hand outstretched to catch the wand flying through the air. After it landed in his hand he had just enough time to turn around and catch her when she run into him. She felt his arms close around her body as the crowd roared with cheers.

'You're alive' she was repeating over and over again, feeling him squash her in a hug as their friends reached them. The noise faded, she could not hear anything as she revelled in the feeling of Harry's warm, living body pressed against hers.

All was well.


End file.
